Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Legs

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Try these easy crispy oven baked chicken legs for a quickly prepared weeknight meal. Just coat the pieces with seasonings and put them in the oven.

I’ve been cleaning out the freezer to make room to stock up on some bacon. Since local I have a hard time finding sugar free bacon locally, I’ve been ordering it online.

Ordering minimally processed bacon online is a lot more expensive, but I find it worth the extra cost. The bacon I buy contains only pork and salt.

Our freezer is usually stocked full of deer meat, but the weather was unusually mild which resulted in a poor hunting season. And, my son has been taking a lot of the meat with him to college to save on his food bill. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the back of our freezer.

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At the end of the summer, my husband got a deal on chicken legs so he bought a huge box of them. I found one more package at the back of the freezer that I missed and took them out to make over a busy weekend.

Since I didn’t have a lot of time, I just cut them up and seasoned them to make these crispy oven baked chicken legs. I thought about making my low carb shake and bake chicken, but wanted to try out a new spice blend.

As with most of my recipes, it doesn’t take much to cook these crispy oven baked chicken legs. I like to use a big zipper bag to coat the seasoning onto the chicken, but you can just rub the seasoning onto the chicken if you prefer. I just find it easier to use the shake and bake method.

To make the chicken crispy, I bake it at a high temperature in the beginning. This crisps up the outside skin. You have to be careful, though, not to burn it. I have a convection oven, and probably had them in a little longer than I should have.

The best way to determine whether the meat is fully cooked is to use a meat thermometer. This also ensures that you don’t overcook the meat which can make it dry. My oven has a temperature probe, so I put it into a thick piece near the bone. The meat is done when the temperature registers 165°F.

Feel free to adjust the seasoning blend to suit your taste. I love spicy food and the amount of cayenne in the recipe was too much for my husband and son, but not enough for me.

Smoked paprika gives a touch of sweetness as well as a lovely color. I used a cajun spice blend because I had it, but you can replace that with seasonings of your choice.

The method for baking is what’s important in this crispy oven baked chicken legs recipe. It’s not the spice blend. I often add a little bit of this and that when it comes to spices without really measuring things out.

Sometimes, I get bored with the same old chicken dish. Don’t you? It’s great to spice things up a bit or change it around. The only chicken dish that my family eats up every time is my Filipino chicken adobo. It’s a classic in our home. My oldest daughter was my pickiest eater and she gave this crispy oven baked chicken legs recipes two thumbs up!

Low Carb Gluten Free Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Legs

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Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Legs

Try these easy crispy oven baked chicken legs for a quickly prepared weeknight meal. Just coat the pieces with seasonings and put them in the oven.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 5

Calories 226 kcal

Author Lisa | Low Carb Yum

Ingredients

• 5 whole chicken legs cut into thighs and drumsticks
• 4 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Wash chicken pieces and wipe dry with paper towels.
2. Combine all spices in a large zipper bag.
3. Line two jelly roll pans with foil and place cooling racks on top of each.
4. Coat each piece of chicken with spices by shaking in the bag.
5. Place each coated piece of chicken on baking rack.
6. Bake at 450°F for the first 20 minutes then reduce temperature to 375°F. Bake until skin is crispy, about 30 minutes longer. Meat is done when thermometer reads 165°F near bone.

Nutrition Facts

Crispy Oven Baked Chicken Legs

Amount Per Serving (120 g)

Calories 226 Calories from Fat 77

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 8.6g 13%

Saturated Fat 2.3g 12%

Cholesterol 101mg 34%

Sodium 607mg 25%

Total Carbohydrates 2.1g 1%

Dietary Fiber 0.7g 3%

Sugars 0.6g

Protein 33.2g 66%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.